Barbara Silkstone - Wendy Darlin 03 - Cairo Caper by Barbara Silkstone

Author:Barbara Silkstone [Silkstone, Barbara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mystery: Cozy - Comedy - Real Estate Agent - Miami
Publisher: Barbara Silkstone
Published: 2014-01-16T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-one

I brushed the sand out of my eyes and greeted the morning sun sneaking through the seams in the tent. What tent? It took a second to remember where I was.

Fiona was snoring lightly. I turned my head away from her and came face-to face with maggots. Slithering, squiggling, disgusting maggots rooting over and under one another! No heads, just hungry mouths. Crawling over a body lying next to me.

I jumped to my feet, brushing my clothing frantically in case some had gotten on me. I looked at the corpse again, covered my mouth, and gagged but didn’t toss my cookies. I stuck my head outside the tent flap and took several deep breaths. It smelled a whole lot better out here. I must have been really exhausted to sleep through that smell.

Two Dark Forcemen guards motioned me inside with the barrels of their AK-47s, always a persuasive direction giver, much more effective than an arrow. I turned my head toward Habib’s tent. The flaps were closed. Where was Habib? He promised to get us out of here before daylight. I said, “Habib?” They looked at each other then back at me. The AK-47 movement became more vigorous so I took the hint and retreated.

The corpse looked slightly familiar, possibly would have looked more familiar if he wasn’t dead and in an early stage of decomposition. Damn! I hate waking up with a wormy dead stranger.

Eureka! It hit me like an ashtray to the face. Maggot-man was the assassin from the hotel balcony. My first kill. Who re-gifted him to me? They didn’t have to go to the trouble. A simple congratulations card would have been plenty.

I put my hand over Fiona’s mouth hoping to wake her without a scream. Her eyes were giant green orbs over the edge of my palm. She kicked her tiny boots, twisted free from my grip, and scrambled to her feet. She glanced at the body. I was relieved she appeared to be handling the situation with poise.

She brushed her outfit, turned toward the corpse again, and started sucking in air for what I knew was going to be the scream that rocked my world. I clamped my hand over her mouth. “Don’t make a sound. We don’t want the guards to rush in.”

The guards had to know the body was here, probably dumped it themselves. But after Habib’s warning, I didn’t want them thinking about us. Out of sight, out of mind; or maybe I was out of my mind. “Don’t panic. I’ll get us out of here.”

Brave words, but I had no idea how to accomplish that. And where the hell were we? And how would we find our caravan? Hmph. The word caravan took on a whole new meaning. It was no longer a gaggle of real estate agents visiting new listings.

The tent flap opened. I covered my face. I was sure the guards were coming in to kill us. I spread my fingers and peeked. Petri entered wearing a white robe with the hood up over his head.

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